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Crash in testing to delay Toyota TS030 Hybrid Le Mans race debut

Toyota had planned to debut its TS030 Hybrid at the Spa 6 Hours in round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship on May 5.

A crash in testing last week means that the new Toyota TS030 Hybrid will not race until the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

The only TS030 built so far was damaged in the crash, forcing Toyota to abandon its planned debut in the Spa 6 Hours, round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship, on May 5. That means that Toyota will not go up against Audi until the Le Mans test day over the first weekend of June.

The crash happened on the first day of what was scheduled to be Toyota's second endurance test in advance of Le Mans. Nicolas Lapierre crashed in wet conditions when water seeped into the car's engine-management system.

Toyota Racing team president Yoshiaki Kinoshita said, “Since the accident we have looked into all options, but unfortunately there is no alternative course of action open to us. Toyota Racing will now urgently prepare a new monocoque to allow it to resume testing as soon as possible and prepare itself for the Le Mans 24 Hours.”

The effect of the accident on Toyota's Le Mans preparations remains unclear. It had a test scheduled at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany next week and was set to run at the MotorLand Aragon circuit in Spain before the end of the month.

Toyota's late decision to field two cars at Le Mans means that its second car will not be ready in time for Spa. The Circuit Paul Ricard test marked the first test of the TS030's definitive 2012 aerodynamic package.